Statement of Teaching Roles and Responsibilities
As an assistant professor at Columbia Union College*, my teaching duties include all aspects of classroom and laboratory instruction and assessment. I also recruit, train, and monitor student laboratory assistants for my laboratory classes, as well as for the Radians College Microbiology course. Additional duties include student advising and mentoring, and service on college committees.
The courses that I teach include courses for science majors, as well as courses for non-majors. My work with each student population is rewarding. The courses for science majors allow me to engage in dialogue regarding specific aspects of biology; this detailed analysis of biological concepts is fascinating and exciting. In the courses for non-majors I have the chance to interact with students from other departments. This keeps me involved in the larger college community, while permitting me to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of science.
Majors courses: Since 2005, I have taught the following courses for science majors:
Cell and Molecular Biology (BIOL 405), Developmental Biology (BIOL 410), Ecology (BIOL 420), Histology (BIOL 315), Immunology (BIOL 494), and Senior Seminar (BIOL 491/492).
I am solely responsible for all aspects of the design, planning, implementation, and assessment for these courses. Class size in these upper-division courses ranges from 10 to 20 students who are all science majors; Developmental Biology and Histology are taught on alternate years, so they tend to have larger class sizes. The majority of Biology and Chemistry majors at Columbia Union College have plans to attend graduate or professional schools (e.g. medical or dental school).
The instruction method for these classes is a combination of traditional lectures and active learning activities. I am responsible for all development and delivery of the lectures, including development of power point slides which are posted on the course management system website for student access. Active learning strategies include case studies, of which I write approximately 40%, while modifying the other 60% from the collection maintained by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html), or from "Problem-based Immunology" (Gorczynski RM and Stanley J, 2006, Saunders Elsevier). Other active learning strategies include journaling, role-playing, building clay models, and concept mapping.
Since students learn in many different ways, I use a number of assessment methodologies in my courses. Summative assessment is predominately exam-based, although research/disease papers are also used in Cell and Molecular Biology, Histology (see disease papers), and Developmental Biology. Alternative assessment techniques include quizzes, case study analyses, concept maps, and student journals. The disease papers have been particularly well-received by the students, since the assignment allows them a great deal of control – they have a minimum number of papers to write, however they can write them on any applicable topic; they can also chose to substitute a poster for one of the papers. Students are also required to present one of their topics to the class in a short oral presentation; this allows integration into the curriculum of communication assessment. The student journals were first perceived as “busy work”. However, with continued use, students have seen the applicability of the journals which help them see how their courses relate to the larger “real” world.
These upper-division science courses also have a laboratory component. I am solely responsible for designing and planning the laboratory portion of each course. Depending on availability of student teaching assistants, I am also responsible for weekly laboratory preparation, instruction, clean-up, and assessment. Laboratory assessment is via weekly lab reports that are written in standard scientific journal format.
Senior Seminar (BIOL 491/492): The Senior Seminar course is the capstone science course for our majors; it is only available to students with sufficient credits to be registered as seniors, and seniors must take it in both fall and spring semesters. This course is unique in several ways. First, since it is only one credit, it does not include a laboratory component. Second, it does not have a required textbook, since the focus is on synthesis and communication of science knowledge. To enhance the exposure of our science majors to different modes of thought, the Senior Seminar course is taught in alternate semesters by different Biology professors.
In the spring of 2006 I taught BIOL 492, and was solely responsible for the design, planning, implementation, and assessment for this course. The course content included oral presentation and evaluation of current scientific literature. Students were graded on individual presentations as well as on participation during their classmates’ presentations.
In the fall of 2006, I began teaching BIOL 491, and have since been solely responsible for the design, planning, implementation, and assessment for this course. In the fall of 2006, we also began combining the Chemistry and Biology majors into the same capstone course. This change was made to increase the efficiency of faculty teaching; an added benefit is that it enhances the interdisciplinary nature of the course.
Beginning in the fall of 2006, I added a service-learning component to the BIOL 491 Senior Seminar course. Briefly, Columbia Union College has partnered with George E. Peters SDA Elementary School to provide a unique learning environment for CUC science majors and G.E. Peters’ middle-school students. The senior science majors work in small groups to design, plan, and implement hands-on age-appropriate science experiments in the middle-school science laboratory. (For more details please see the Senior Seminar BIOL 491 syllabus.) This service-learning project has been very beneficial, and a lot of fun, for both parties. In November 2007, this partnership resulted in a night of science for the elementary school (see the Reunion story on “Creative Science Investigations @ G.E. Peters).
Students in BIOL 491 are assessed based on their contribution to their group activity. They also write two reflection papers – mid-term and final – regarding their experiences at G. E. Peters. (See the sample comments from students.) Although students are often initially hesitant about “teaching” the middle-school students, the application of their science knowledge, and the necessity to communicate this to non-scientists, are quickly seen as valid learning outcomes, and most students enjoy the experience. In addition to the service-learning project, students are required to spend time writing about science. This writing component has taken several forms including writing short summaries and critiques of current science literature, writing “newspaper” articles explaining current scientific topics of public interest, writing annotated bibliographies, and writing short focus papers on student-chosen research topics.
Non-majors courses: Since 2005, I have taught the following courses for non-majors:
Bioethics (BIOL/PHIL 494H), Diseases in History (BIOL/HIST 294H), Microbiology (BIOL 150).
Bioethics: The Bioethics (BIOL/PHIL 494H) course is a new course at Columbia Union College; it was first offered in the spring of 2008, and in the future will be offered on alternate years. The students can take the course to fulfill either a Science or Philosophy credit; however, all students participate in all lecture and laboratory components of the class. The course is available to all Honors students who must take four interdisciplinary general education courses. The course is also available to non-Honors students with the permission of both professors and the director of the Honors program.
The Bioethics course examines current biotechnologies such as the use of stem cells, DNA fingerprinting, genetically engineered foods, animal/human biomedical testing, and global warming. Students investigate the science underlying each technology, while discussing the ethical issues surrounding the use of the technology. The interdisciplinary nature of this course is unique, allowing students with little or no background in science to discuss the current biotechnological issues facing the public. For further information regarding this course, please see the description of new courses.
This course was co-developed and team-taught with Dr. Melvin Roberts, chemistry professor. Both professors contributed to the design, planning, and implementation of the course and laboratory. Each professor brought unique strengths to the course. Melvin Roberts has a strong background in bioethics, as well as biochemistry and environmental science. Melinda Ekkens-Villanueva has a strong background in biotechnology applications in microbiology and developmental biology.
The course consists of a combination of traditional lectures and classroom-based active-learning activities. Active learning strategies include classroom discussion and case studies obtained from the Internet and local newspapers. To accommodate different learning styles, a number of assessment methodologies are used in this course. Assessment techniques include quizzes, case study analyses, focused writing assignments, a mid-term exam, and a formal research paper which explores a unique biotechnology and its associated ethical dilemma.
The laboratory portion of the Bioethics course was developed and implemented by both professors, and includes an introduction to a wide-range of biotechnologies. Future laboratory sessions will include field trips which take advantage of the rich biotechnology environment in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Laboratory assessment is via weekly laboratory reports that are written in standard scientific journal format.
Diseases in History: In the spring of 2007, I team-taught the Honors course Diseases in History (BIOL/HIST 294H), with Dr. Joan Francis. Although this course has previously been offered in the department of History, Political Studies, and Philosophy, in the spring of 2007, the course was modified to include both a history and science component, and was offered to the Honors students. (Non-Honors students could also take the course with the permission of both professors and the director of the Honors program.) The students could take the course to fulfill either a History or Science credit; however, all students participated in all lecture and laboratory components of the class. The class took field trips to National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed and the Natural History Museum in downtown Washington, DC, as well as learning basic microbiology and molecular biology techniques in the laboratory. The blend of science and history in the class was unique, and contributed to the richness of the experience for all involved. For further information regarding this course, please see the description of new courses.
The history professor, Joan Francis, has taught this course for a number of years at Columbia Union College. However, in the spring of 2007, the science component was added by Melinda Ekkens-Villanueva. Each professor brought unique strengths to the course. Joan Francis has extensive experience teaching history, as well as the science knowledge that she has gained from previous years teaching the course. Melinda Ekkens-Villanueva has a strong background in science, particularly biology. This unique combination allowed us to highlight the interplay between the biological world and human history. This interdisciplinary course was timely as the role of disease in shaping human history has only recently been acknowledged in the literature.
The course instruction was based predominately on readings, class discussions, and focused writing assignments. Joan Francis is experienced at leading classroom discussions, so it was beneficial for me to observe her in the classroom. Assessment techniques included quizzes, short writing assignments, a mid-term exam, and a formal research paper which examined the political, social, and historical context of a specific disease.
Both professors were responsible for the design of the laboratory portion of the course, which included a number of field trips as well as an introduction to basic laboratory techniques such as gram staining, bacterial transformations, and epidemiology. I was solely responsible for the science portion of the laboratory. Laboratory assessment was via weekly laboratory reports that were written in standard scientific journal format.
Microbiology: This course is taught every spring, and is required for all pre-nursing and pre-respiratory students. Students who are interested in physical therapy and dentistry also take the course, although they are in the minority. Class size ranges between 30-40 students, of which 90% are pre-nursing students.
I am solely responsible for all aspects of the design, planning, implementation, and assessment for this course. Similar to my courses for science majors, the instruction method for this course is a combination of traditional lectures and active learning activities. I am responsible for all development and delivery of the lectures, including development of power point slides which are posted on the course management system website for student access. Active learning strategies include case studies (obtained from the textbook, the internet, "Outbreak: Cases in Real-World Microbiology" [ASM Press], or "Microbe Files: Cases in Microbiology for the Undergraduate" [Benjamin Cummings]), role-playing, building clay models, and concept mapping.
Since students learn in many different ways, I use a number of assessment methodologies in my courses. Summative assessment is predominately exam-based. Alternative assessment techniques include quizzes, case study analyses, concept maps, and pathogen portfolios (see samples).
The Microbiology course also has a laboratory component. I am solely responsible for designing and planning the laboratory portion of each course. For this course student teaching assistants are responsible for weekly laboratory preparation, clean-up, and assessment, while I carry out the weekly laboratory instruction. Laboratory assessment is via weekly laboratory reports that are written in standard scientific journal format.
In spring 2008, I modified the laboratory portion to include a more inquiry-driven segment. The first half of the semester is now spent learning basic microbiological techniques, while the second half of the semester is spent on the design and execution of a small-group research project. Following completion of the project, all students submit a formal laboratory report written in standard journal format. They also create a poster which they use in an oral presentation to their classmates. Assessment of the paper, poster, and oral presentation is based on scientific accuracy and methodology, clarity, and creativity. For further details, please see the “Small-group Microbiology Laboratory Projects”.